Stephanie's Goodbye on THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL Has Been Heartbreaking

THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL has pulled out all the stops to tell one final story for Stephanie Forrester. Well, most of them since Ridge (Ronn Moss) never returned, but even that was explained in Wednesday's episode.

With one moving performance by Susan Flannery after another, and the cast shining at every opportunity, the return of Stephanie's cancer and Stephanie dying has been thoughtful, poignant and, at times, even comical. Even Celtic Woman was part of the action.

The end was near on Wednesday as Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) took care of Stephanie while Eric (John McCook) went to a Forrester Creations meeting with the family.

Brooke read to Stephanie, and then Stephanie admitted she had asked Ridge not to come home for her party. She explained that she didn't want him to see her like this. She then asked a worried Brooke to take her outside.

At Forrester, Pam (Alley Mills) asked Eric if he was going to send her back to Chicago. It was a wonderful scene for Mills, who always makes the most of her screen time.

Stephanie told Brooke she might want to leave for the next part of the process (her death). When Brooke begged her not to make her go, Stephanie joked that she had never been able to get rid of her. She later made a crack that she always said Brooke would be the death of her. Those sweet moments helped break the tension in what has been a heartbreaking story, especially this week.

When Stephanie coughed up blood on Tuesday's episode, the audience knew the end was near. As someone who has been in the position of taking care of a parent with cancer in the final stages of life, the episodes this week hit incredibly close to home.

Kudos to B&B and executive producer/head writer Bradley Bell for giving Susan Flannery and her unforgettable character, Stephanie Forrester, the send-off she (and the audience) deserved. Monday's episode, which has been advertised as the end of this story, will be hard to watch, but I wouldn't miss it for the world.